New system will measure killing power of bird flu

The culprit?
In just one week, Nigeria reported its first human death from avian influenza, Japan confirmed its third outbreak in poultry this season, and Indonesia declared a state of emergency following its 63rd human death from the virus.
Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

We have categories to help us gauge the destructiveness of hurricanes. And we have an index that tells us if our body mass is too massive. Now we have a system to rate the killing power of bird flu outbreaks.

Nikki Tundel reports on the pandemic severity index, which was released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The new rating system recommends steps to take in the event of a bird flu pandemic.

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